Sanitary purging apparatus

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a sanitary cleaning device or apparatus that includes a basin, a temperature controller, and a flow controller. The temperature controller supplies water at a predetermined temperature to the flow controller, while the flow controller manages the water flow to a sprayer located in the basin. The present invention also provides a flow controller connected to a transversely-oscillating sprayer and a longitudinally-oscillating sprayer, both located in the basin. Furthermore, a water distributor may be used to divide the flow between the transversely-oscillating sprayer and the longitudinally-oscillating sprayer. A housing may be disposed on the rear portion of the rim of the basin to house the temperature controller, the flow controller, and the water distributor. The present invention may also include a cover for the basin and a sitting ring for the basin rim.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a sanitary appliance, particularly to a body purging or cleaning apparatus for cleaning a person after defecation and/or urination.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As commonly used in bathrooms, e.g., after defecation and urination, people employ toilet paper to clean themselves. However, as individuals may themselves be infected by disease or parasites, the use of toilet paper alone is not at all sanitary. As a matter of fact, it is not satisfactorily effective to clean a human body with just toilet paper. Furthermore, discarded toilet paper could clog the drainage.

A conventional cleaning or purging apparatus is set forth in Chinese utility model No. 89219065.5, entitled “A Portable Apparatus for Purging a Human Body”. As shown in FIG. 1 of the Drawings, the cleaning apparatus therein includes a tank 1, a sprayer 2, a foam plastic plug 5 and a cylindrical enclosure 4. The sprayer 2 is screwed onto the tank 1, which is made from a flexible plastic and consists of an upper shell and a lower shell both of which are engaged or sealed tightly with each other. The sprayer 2 is inserted into the foam plastic plug or socket 5, which is used for cleaning or rubbing the sprayer 2. Some napkins 3 may be placed in the enclosure 4. The tank 1 has a section shaped elliptically. Naturally, the tank 1 is used for containing water, which is often kept at a substantially constant temperature, e.g., when the tank is carried close to the body. Though the conventional cleaning apparatus of FIG. 1 is somewhat effective in cleaning, it is still deemed generally only as a rudimentary device. Particularly, it is disadvantageous in that it is of primitive construction and cannot be used conveniently and widely. Further, there is no warm water generated for users.

As people grow wealthier, more elaborate cleaning apparatuses have evolved from a so-called luxurious appliance to a routine necessity for all. With reference now to FIG. 2 of the Drawings, there is illustrated another conventional cleaning apparatus, which includes a toilet basin 9 and a tap 7 disposed on a rear portion of the rim of the basin 9. The more elaborate conventional cleaning apparatus is, however, nonetheless disadvantageous in that:

(1) When the basin 9 is installed in a bathroom, it is usually placed against a wall. A user is then forced to seat himself on the basin facing the wall, cleaning himself by adjusting the tap, which abuts the wall. Since the tap is not disposed conveniently for front-facing use, it is awkward and inconvenient. Further, there is no mechanism for controlling the water temperature automatically.

(2) Additionally, since the basin is not provided with a sanitary cover, the user is forced to seat himself directly on the rim of the potentially unclean basin to clean himself. Most users feel quite uncomfortable and perhaps disgusted, as the basin is made of a ceramic material.

(3) Also, the tap 7 has a sprayer 8 mounted with a predetermined and set orientation, which is not adjustable to clean or spray in a desired direction, forcing the person to accommodate to the device's limitations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To overcome the disadvantages of the prior art as described above, the present invention provides a sanitary cleaning device or apparatus that includes a basin, a temperature controller, and a flow controller. The temperature controller supplies water at a predetermined temperature to the flow controller, while the flow controller manages the water flow to a sprayer located in the basin. The present invention also provides a flow controller connected to a transversely-oscillating sprayer and a longitudinally-oscillating sprayer, both located in the basin. The user may specify a desired water temperature by turning a handwheel connected to the temperature controller. A handwheel may also be connected to the flow controller to manage the amount of water flowing through the sprayers. Furthermore, a water distributor may be used to divide the flow between the transversely-oscillating sprayer and the longitudinally-oscillating sprayer. A housing may be disposed on the rear portion of the rim of the basin to house the temperature controller, the flow controller, and the water distributor. The present invention may also include a cover for the basin and a cushion ring for the basin rim.

Additional embodiments are further defined in the specification and also set forth in the dependent claims.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention is advantageous in that:

(1) The cleaning apparatus is provided with an easily adjustable water-temperature controller permitting control of the output temperature by means of rotation of a handwheel. The temperature can thus be kept constant during use. Additionally, the user will seat himself or herself on the basin and face opposite to the building wall. In other words, the user will not be forced to face the wall to operate the controls. As the water temperature is set to a predetermined value, users can readily adjust and control the direction of the water flow by rotating a flow-adjusting wheel.

(2) The water flow can be adjusted manually and simply by means of rotation of the flow-adjusting handwheel.

(3) A water distributor distributes the water flow to a transversely-oscillating sprayer and a longitudinally-oscillating sprayer so that the sprayers can direct the flow as per the user's wishes and for subsequent usage.

(4) The apparatus has a cover used for keeping the basin clean and includes a cushion ring for seating a user comfortably.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the conventional cleaning device set forth in Chinese utility model No. 89219065.5;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates another conventional cleaning apparatus;

FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C schematically illustrate a cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, where FIG. 3A is a side cross-sectional view, FIG. 3B is a front cross-sectional view, and FIG. 3C is a top view of the present cleaning apparatus without the basin cover;

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C schematically illustrate a flow controller and temperature controller according to the present invention, where FIG. 4A is a front cross-sectional view, FIG. 4B is a front view, and FIG. 4C is a side view of the flow controller and temperature controller of the instant invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the flow controller and temperature controller of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a front cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Various aspects of the invention are described in detail in the following sections. The use of sections is not meant to limit the invention. Each section can apply to any aspect of the invention. In this application, the use of “or” means “and/or” unless stated otherwise.

With reference now to FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C of the Drawings, there is illustrated a cleaning device or apparatus according to the present invention, which includes a toilet basin 9, an adjustor 10 disposed on a rear portion of the rim of the basin 9, a transversely-oscillating sprayer 11 mounted to a rear wall of the basin 9, and a longitudinally-oscillating sprayer 12 mounted on the bottom thereof. The adjustor 10 has a housing 104 (shown in FIG. 5) provided with two outlets connected, respectively, to the sprayers 11 and 12 via conduits, discussed further hereinbelow. The adjustor 10 includes a temperature controller, a flow controller, and a water distributor, in addition to the housing 104. As also shown in FIG. 5, the aforementioned temperature controller includes a central temperature controller unit (CTU) 105 and a temperature controller handwheel 106. The aforementioned water distributor includes a distributor valve 111, a valve housing 112, and a distributor pull 113. The aforementioned flow controller includes a flow-adjusting handwheel 101, a central flow controller unit (CFU) 102 and a valve casing 103. The aforementioned housing 104 for the adjustor 10 includes a draining switch 15 at a side thereof, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, which is connected to a longitudinal or elongated draining rod 14 a engaged with a transverse draining rod 14 b, which is, in turn, anchored to a stopper mechanism 13 for closing the drainage. Therefore, a user can open or close the drainage by means of operating the draining switch 15. The basin 9 has a cover 16, which is preferably provided with a cushion ring for seating the user so that he or she would feel comfortable and the cleaning apparatus could be kept clean.

With reference now to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 5, the housing 104 with the temperature controller has an upper portion provided with a first receiving hole 115 bored through from the left side to the right side of the housing. The valve casing 103 is received in the first receiving hole 115, which has a first recess 116 a for passing the body of the valve casing 103 a and tightly engaging the casing fitting 103 b thereof. The valve casing 103 is hollow in that the casing body 103 a has a casing bore 103 c. The central flow controller unit 102 includes a first fitting 102 a, a second fitting 102 b and a valve body 102 c, which are all preferably made into a single-piece member. The valve body 102 c is formed with a central bore 102 d having a diameter equal to that of the casing bore. As shown in FIG. 5, the central flow controller unit 102 is inserted into the valve casing 103. The second fitting 102 b is engaged tightly with the casing fitting 103 a, and is rotatable axially in and about the casing fitting 103 a, which can change the area over which the central bore 102 d and the casing bore 103 c coincide with each other, so that the water flow can be adjusted. The first fitting 102 a of the central flow controller unit 102 is connected to the flow-adjusting handwheel 101, which drives the rotation of the central flow controller unit 102, which changes the area over which the central bore 102 d and the casing bore 103 c coincide with each other for adjusting the water flow.

It should be understood that a commercially-available central temperature controller unit 105 includes a hot water filter layer 105 a for introducing a hot water stream, a cold water filter layer 105 b for introducing a cold water stream, and an outlet 105 c for outputting, at a predetermined temperature, a mixture of the hot water and the cold water as introduced. As shown in FIG. 4A, the central temperature controller unit 105 is received in the receiving hole 115 of the housing 104, which has second, third and fourth recesses 116 b, 116 c and 116 d for accommodating the central temperature controller unit 105 snugly therein. Particularly, the second and third recesses 116 b and 116 c admit the hot water stream only to the hot water filter layer 105 a, and none of the hot water to the recess 117 and the cold water filter layer 105 b. The third and fourth recesses 116 c and 116 d admit the cold water stream only to the cold water filter layer 105 b. As shown further in FIG. 4A, the central temperature controller 105 is located on the right side of the valve casing 103. The central temperature controller 105 and the valve casing 103 are not in direct contact, and the recess 117 is sandwiched therebetween. A hot water passage 114 b is provided under the hot water filter layer 105 a of the housing 104, while a cold water passage 114 a is placed under the cold water filter layer 105 b.

The left and right sides of the housing 104 have two openings for connecting the cold water passage 114 b and the hot water passage 114 a, respectively. A cold water conduit 108 a and a hot water conduit 108 b, respectively, are inserted into the openings. Check valves 107 a and 107 b are disposed respectively in the upper ends of the cold water conduit 108 a and the hot water conduit 108 b so as to prevent the water flowing therethrough from flowing back.

The housing 104 includes a water output ring 120 connected to the casing bore 103 c and a first longitudinal water output passage 121, under which a second receiving hole 118 is provided. A distributor valve 111 is tied to a water distributor pull 113 via the valve casing 112. The distributor valve 111 and the valve casing 112 are received in the second receiving hole 118, with the latter connected to the second receiving hole. The water distributor valve 111 is moved transversely in the end portion 118 a of second receiving hole 118. The end portion of the distributor valve 111 is preferably shaped, in section, like a right hexagon with an upper salient and a lower salient. The end portion 118 a of the second receiving hole 118 has a top portion connected to the first water output passage 121, a left portion connected to the second water output passage 119 a, and a right portion connected to the third water output passage 119 b. The frontal surface of the end portion 118 a is inclined at the same degree as the frontal face of the distributor valve 111. The distributor valve 111 has a height greater than the general diameter of the second receiving hole 118 but less than the height of the end portion 118 a. As the distributor pull 113 is moved to the left, the distributor valve 111 slides in the same direction until it abuts against the left side wall of the end portion 118 a so as to prevent water from flowing into the third water output passage 119 a through the left portion of the end portion 118 a. Likewise, as the distributor pull 113 is moved to the right, the distributor valve 111 slides in this direction until it abuts against the right side wall of the end portion 118 a so as to prevent water from flowing into the fourth water output passage 119 b through the right portion of the end portion 118 a. When the distributor valve 111 is located on a midway along the end portion 118 a, water is allowed to flow into a third water output passage 119 a and a fourth water output passage 119 b concurrently. The third water output passage 119 a and the fourth water output passage 119 b are extended under the housing 104 for respective connections with the first water output conduit 109 a and the second water output conduit 109 b. As shown in FIG. 3A, the first water output conduit 109 a is connected to the transversely-oscillating sprayer 11, while second water output conduit 109 b connected to the longitudinally-oscillating sprayer 12.

With reference now to FIG. 6, there is illustrated another preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the cleaning apparatus differs slightly from that shown and illustrated in connection with FIGS. 4A-4C. The valve casing 103 and the central flow controller unit 102 may be inserted into the left portion of the first receiving hole 115 of the housing 104, with the central temperature controller 105 being placed in the right portion thereof. However, in this embodiment, the water output conduit 109 may be connected directly with the casing bore 103 c of the valve casing 103, and connected to the transversely-oscillating sprayer and/or the longitudinally-oscillating sprayer for the purpose of the cleaning.

The detailed description is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art could contemplate any other alternative embodiments that should be deemed as falling into the scope of protection as claimed. 

1. A cleaning device, said device comprising: a basin, a temperature controller connected to a hot water supply and a cold water supply, a flow controller connected to said temperature controller, said temperature controller supplying water to said flow controller at a specified temperature, and at least one sprayer located in said basin and connected to said flow controller.
 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein said flow controller comprises: a valve casing with a casing bore, and a central flow controller with a flow bore, said central flow controller moving within the casing bore of said valve casing, and changing an area of overlap between said flow bore and said casing bore to adjust water flow.
 3. The cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising: a housing disposed at the rear of said basin, having at least one receiving hole therethrough, and holding said flow controller and said temperature controller therein.
 4. The cleaning device according to claim 3, said housing further comprising: a cold water passage therein connected to said cold water supply, and a hot water passage therein connected to said hot water supply.
 5. The cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising: a first check valve at a first interface with said cold water supply, and a second check valve at a second interface with said hot water supply.
 6. The cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising: a cover for said basin, and a sitting ring across the rim of said basin.
 7. A cleaning device, said device comprising: a basin, a flow controller connected to a water supply, a transversely-oscillating sprayer located in a first transverse position within said basin and connected to said flow controller, and a longitudinally-oscillating sprayer located in a second longitudinal position within said basin and connected to said flow controller, the outward flow of water through said sprayers being user adjustable.
 8. The cleaning device according to claim 7, further comprising: a distributor valve, a distributor valve casing, and a distributor controller connected to said distributor valve through said distributor valve casing, said distributor controller adjusting water flow in a water passage between said transversely-oscillating sprayer and said longitudinally-oscillating sprayer.
 9. The cleaning device according to claim 8, wherein said distributor valve has a hexagonally-shaped end with an upper salient and a lower salient, said hexagonally-shaped end moving in said water passage to adjust water flow between said transversely-oscillating sprayer and said longitudinally-oscillating sprayer.
 10. The cleaning device according to claim 7, wherein said flow controller comprises: a valve casing with a casing bore, and a central flow controller with a flow bore, said central flow controller moving within the casing bore of said valve casing, and changing an area of overlap between said flow bore and said casing bore to adjust water flow.
 11. The cleaning device according to claim 7, further comprising: a housing disposed at the rear of said basin, with a receiving hole therein holding said flow controller.
 12. The cleaning device according to claim 7, further comprising: a housing disposed at the rear of said basin, having a receiving hole therein connecting a first water output conduit from said flow controller to said transversely-oscillating sprayer and a second water output conduit from said flow controller to said longitudinally-oscillating sprayer.
 13. The cleaning device according to claim 7, further comprising: a cover for said basin, and a sitting ring across the rim of said basin.
 14. A sprayer device for use in a cleaning device, said sprayer device comprising: a transversely-oscillating sprayer in a first transverse position within said cleaning device, a longitudinally-oscillating sprayer in a second longitudinal position within said cleaning device, and a water distributor adjusting water flow between said transversely-oscillating sprayer and said longitudinally-oscillating sprayer, the outward flow of water through said sprayers being user adjustable.
 15. The sprayer device according to claim 14, wherein said water distributor comprises: a distributor valve, a distributor valve casing, and a distributor controller connected to said distributor valve through said distributor valve casing, said distributor controller adjusting water flow in a water passage between said transversely-oscillating sprayer and said longitudinally-oscillating sprayer.
 16. The sprayer device according to claim 15, wherein said distributor valve has a hexagonally-shaped end with an upper salient and a lower salient, said hexagonally-shaped end moving in said water passage to adjust water flow between said transversely-oscillating sprayer and said longitudinally-oscillating sprayer. 